Process of manufacturing gas and coke.



No. 766,400 PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904, J. C. H. STUT.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS AND COKE.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 27, 1903 H0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

a an ODDDDDDDII Vl jawsgcs- Duran 02? No. 766,400. .PATENTBD AUG. 2,1904.

J. G. H. STUT.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS AND COKE.

APPLIOATIOI rum) JULY 21, 1903.

H0 MODEL. 3 SHBETS-SHBET 2.

No. 766,400. PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904.

J. O. H. STUT.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS AND 00KB.

Arrmoulon rum) JULY 27, 1003. no xonnn. gamma-sum 2.

W ess 5: r I 5mm ofifw r Patented August 2, 1904.

J O H N C H.

STUT, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURiNG GAS AND COKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 766,400, dated August2, 1904.

Application tiled July 27, 1903- .":erial No. 167,122. No model.)

To (1.]! 10710111.- [f may (O/b81771.

Beit known that I, JOHN C. H. S'rU'r, a citireters at each end of theseries, a regenerator in relation to each carbureter, andconductingpassages communicating with the several chambers, whereby airand steam may be passed alternately from one regenerator to the otherthrough the interveningcarlmreters and ovens and over the fuel.

It is usual in apparatus of the above general type to convert the coalcharge within the ovens into coke and intermittently to re cover gasfrom the charge while being coked, alternately heating or renewing theheat of the ovens and connecting-fines by the admission of atmosphericair above the body of coking coals, whereby a combustible mixture isformed with the evolved gases, then shutting off the air, so as toarrest comlmstion, and admitting steam into and through the ovens abovethe body of coking coal and re covering the gases produced from thecoking coal and the decomposing steam, providing any steam isdecomposed. It is common to admit oil to the ovens to produce oil-gas aswell. The process is essentially a coking process, since theovens remainentirelyclosed during the gas-ma king periods, except for the admissionof steam and oil above the fuel, and the heat in the ovens is entirelyrover-berated heat, the ovens becoming, in fact, reverberatory furnaces.The shortcomings of this process incident to the furnaceconstruction,wherein the heat. air, and steam can be applied only fromabove, are as follows:

First. The coking of the coal is very slow. because the furnace being ofthe reverberatonv type the heat provided for the coking comes onlyfromthe top and is produced by the consumption of the gases evolved from thecoal.

Second. The production of any water-gas is dependent solely on thedecomposition of the steam in the presence of whatever carbon may be inthe gases above and evolving from the incandescent coal. By actualpractice it is found that very little water-gas is thus formed, becausethe contact of the steam and gases is not sufficiently intimate, theamount of carbon present is inadequate, and, above all, the period ofcontact of the steam and gaseous carbon is not. sufficiently prolongedto cause the necessary chemical disruption of any considerable quantityof steam. It is well known that to produce water-gas the steam must bebrought into the immediate presence of a surplus of incandescent carbon,(otherwise carbon dioxid instead of carbon monoxid will result,) and theperiod of contact should 'be prolonged sull'icicnt to give the steam achance to be split up and liberate its oxygen.

Third. \Yhen oil is introduced into the ovens for the purpose of makingoil-gas to be mixed with coal and water gas, there no way of regulatingthe proportion of these several gases. While oil-gas made from crudeoils of asphaltum base is rich in illuminatimg power, it is generallytoo expensive when used by itself, but mixed with water-gas in properproportions proves eminently satisfactory as an illuminant and is verymuch cheaper to the manufacturer and to the consumer. Inasmuch as sovery little water-gas is actually generated under the above process, forthe reasons just mentioned, the desired result is not ob tainable.

Fourth. Moreover, where oil is introduced as above a very heavy depositof lampblack or fine carbon appears in the superheaters and carburetors,while still anotherconsiderable portion is carried off with the gas intothe washer and lost. the heat that could be obtained from the combustionof this lost carbon being itself lost to the process.

The object of the present invention is todevise a system of heating theovens and manipulating the fuel-supply so as to get the fullestelficiency from the ovens in the manufacture of coke andilluminating-gas. This object is obtainableby an apparatus wherein thereis added to the general structure previously indicated means forintroducing air or steam also from the bottom of the furnaces, wherebyit may pass upwardly through the body of incandescent coal, and byobserving certain conditions in the attention of the ovens and thegovernment of the air, steam, and fuel supply, as will be more fullyexplained hereinafter, having reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure 1 is a view showing a partial side elevation and exteriorview, a partial section on line a; y of Fig. 2, and partial section online t 7) Z r of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a view showing a plan of the leftportion, a section adjacent thereto on lines R n 0 p of Fig. 1, and theremainder on lines (1 s of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section onlines f a d c of Fig. 1. Fig, 4is a horizontal section, one portionbeing taken on line A b and the remainder to the right of section Z 172of Fig. 2.

For the purpose of illustration I have shown here a series of fourovens, (marked 1, 2, 3, and 4,) though it is obvious this number may bevaried in practice, if desired.

5 and 6 are the carbureters or superheaters located at each side of theoven series, and 7 and 8 are regenerators located beyond the carburetersat each end and surmounted by respective stacks 9 10, having therespective dampers 11 12.

13 represents a washer, of which there is one at each end of theapparatus, although but one is here shown,

In the present case the ovens, carbureters, and regenerators are shownarranged side by side and the ovens separated from each other by Wallsof fire-brick. The upper parts of the ovens and carbureters areconnected by passages 14, and the bottoms of the carbureters andregenerators are connected by passage 15.

In the present invention the ovens are provided with hearths,perforated, as at 16, up through which air or steam may pass from thefines 17 which extend lengthwise of each oven.

18 is a main air-supply pipe extending over the top and outside of theovens, from which air may be supplied to the ovens both above and belowthe fuel by means of the branch pipes 19 20, which open, respectively,into the fluid passages 21 above and between the ovens and into the endsof the flues 17. The pipes 19 20 are provided with suitablecontrolling-valves, (indicated at 20.) The regenerators have also branchair-pipes 22, leading from the air-main 18, and the passage of airthrough them is controlled by valves 23. Coal fuel is admitted to theovens as needed through the top doors 24.

The ends of the ovens are closed by the main doors 25, provided with thesmaller doors 26 to allow the operator to have access to spread a freshcharge of coal over the ovens. The

main doors are hung on swinging arms 27, as shown. Below the hearths arethe doors 28,

which allow for the cleaning of the ovens.

The carbureters and regenerators are provided with respective doors 29and 30.

The carbureters and regenerators have formed within them a checker-workof brick or the like, so laid as to form tortuous passages through whichthe gases from the ovens and the air admitted from pipes 22 are causeding down through the checker-Work in one regenerator, up through thechecker-work in the corresponding carbureter, and thence traversing theoven-space to mingle with the evolving gases from the fuel. In thepresent apparatus steam is also adapted to be admitted below each oven.as at 34, and to pass through the body of solid incandescent carbonabove.

37 is the main gas-pipe leading from each regenerator to its respectivewasher and having a controlling-valve 38, while 39 is the outlet fromthe washer. t

The ovens, carbureters, and regenerators are inclosed in gas and airtight iron castings, as shown at 35 and 36. These castings are wellriveted together and made air-tigh t, braced by backstays and tierod'sin any suitable manner to resist the expansion and contraction due tothe heat of the ovens. The latter are made of the very best offire-brick.

The manufacture of gas by this apparatus, either under the old processor by my process, contemplates two periodstirst, the heating period,and, second, the gas-making period.

For the heating period coal or other fuel is fed as required into thecharging-holes 24. The covers of these holes being then closed, theovens are assumed to be hot. Supposing the operation be from left toright, damper 11 in stack 9 at the left will be closed and damper 12 atthe right opened. Valves 38 in gaspipes 37 and also air-valve 23 in pipe22 at the right will be closed; but air-valve 23 at the left will beopened, as likewise will be upper valves 20*, and if it is desired toheat up the ovens quickly lower valves 2O will be opened, though in theordinary closed-bottom furnace air in the heating period and steam in.the gas-making period can only be admitted from above and allowed topass over the fuel and never through the fuel. Air under pressure or byinduced draft is introduced from the main supply-pipe 18. By induceddraft is meant a draft which either results from high chimneys or froman exhauster that will draw the gases of combustion from the ovens bythe production of a partial vacuum therein, whereas a forced draftproduces a pressure within the ovens in excess of the atmosphericpressure. From the hot fuel the gases are now evolved. and these combinew1th the oxygen of the air. making gases of com- 1 bustion or wastegases. bustion pass through the openings it from The gases of comoven tooven to the top of the carbureters o l During this time the air-valve 23in the pipe 1 of the right-hand regenerator will remain closed; but theair-valve 23 for the left-hand regenerator has been opened. The air thenintroduced into the lefthand regenerator will become highly heated inpassing through the hot checker-work and will burn otl all the lampblackor fine carbon that has been deposited from the previous run of gasworking from left to right. During this period of heating with thepresent construction of apparatus air under pressure might also beintrod uced under any fuel in any oven in which it is not designed toproduce coking, so as to heat up the ovens more quickly and to a highertemperature, and the heat from the ovens having this additional draftwill be transmitted through the walls intermediate between said ovensand the contiguous coking-ovens upon each side. This produces a greaterheat and also a heat upon each side as well as upon the top of the fuel,and the period necessary for coking is thus greatly reduced. It will beunderstood that the heat ing-fuel may be either gaseous. liquid,orsolid,and the coking material may either consist of the solid fuel, as coal.or the heavy crude pe troleum oil or residue therefrom, which also makesan excellent coke. As shown in the present drawings. the ovens 2 and -tcontain coke, and the oven 1 is designed for the burning of oil or gas.while the oven 3 is tilled with coal above the fuel-level of ovens 2 andthe surface only of the hotcoal. Any proportion of water-gas to thecoal-gas can be made by regulating the amount of steam introducedthrough the lower part of the ovens and the depth of the hot coal abovethe hearth.

\l'hile a small quantity of water-gas may be produced by the steam frompipes 33 coming in at the top of the regenerators and striking the hotcarbon or lampblackdeposit-ed on the cheeker-work and passing thenceover the hot ovens. still by 'far the main portion of watergas is formedby the steam from pipes 34: coming from below and passing 11p throughthe body of incamlesrent fuel.

By introducing steam above and below the fuel in the ovens it is broughtinto intimate contact with all the fuel, both in a gaseous and in asolid state, so that the oxygen of the steam has ample opportunity tobecome united with the carbon, forming thereby carbon inonoxid andlrvdrogen or so-called water-gas. which mixes with the other gasesproduced and thence passing through the highly-heated carbureters andregenerators to become lixed.

As the coal and water gases pass through the openings between the ovensthey may be brought iutocontaet with oil. which is introduced over thefuel in the ovens and. if nec- 4: so that the single a aratus mavillus-:

trate each part of the operation. As soon as the ovens have beenproperly heated all the air-valves to the ovens. carbureters. andregenerators are closed. Also the stack-valve 12 and the gas-valve 38 onthe right are opened. This brings us to the gas-making period. Coalgasis now evolving from the heated coal in i the difi'erent ovens. Thesteam-valve on the top of the regenerator T is opened and also in thethe hearths of those ovens that are not being used for coking. Byopening these latter valves the steam is admitted and caused to passthrough a large body of white-hot coal or other fuel. and the steam ishere decomposed. so that what is termed water-gas is formed in muchlarger quantities than can possibly be produced by the passage of thesteam over present apparatus the steam-valve under essary. also into thecarbureters. This oil also is vaporized. and by its contact with the hotcoal in the ovens and the passage through the hot brick checker-work inthe carburetor and the regenerator the gas is tixed and renderedpermanent with the other gases. The oil introduced into the carburetorsis for the purpose of enriching the mixture gel'ierated in the ovens.

Some lampblack or line carbon will always be deposited from the heavieroils, and to save this depos1tion of carbon and also to retain thegreater portion of heat that is in the illuminating-gases and in thegases of combustion formed during the heating period the regeneratorsare made very high and with a large amount of brick checker-work inthem. This provides a large body to retain the heat and a large surfacefor the deposit of carbon.

\Vhen the gases have passed up and through the regenerators. theydischarge through the gasvalve at- 3b and into the washer '1 l, aspreviously stated, and from the washers to the scrubbers. puritiers.&c., in the same manner as in other gasworks.

After a certain period of operation in one direction the ovens willcooldown somewhat, and as soon as this occurs the gas-making will c ase.At this point thoheatingof the ovens must be again etlccted; but thistime the heating will take place from the opposite end or, as at presentdescribed, from right to left, be-

cause the carbon andl tat deposits are now located in the right-handregenerator. This heating process is carried on in exactly the samemanner as previously described when the operation takes place from leftto right,

&

and it is therefore not necessary to repeat it here.

By means of the apparatus herein described I am enabled to performseveral different operations with practically no change further than toobserve certain conditions of fuel, air, and steam feed. Thus I maymanufacture gas from coal, oil, and steam, or, secondly, I may make okeand gas from coal, oil, and steam, or, thirdly, 1 may make coke andwater-gas and oil-gas from crude oil, or, fourth, oil-gas and water-gasmay be made from crude oil and steam without the production of coke.These results may be effected as follows:

First. If an operation is to be carried on for making a mixture ofcoal-gas, oil-gas, and water-gas only, the oven 4, as shown in thedrawings, will contain some hot coal. On the top of this coal freshgreen coal will be introduced, and this coal will give ofi coal-gas. Ofcourse it is understood that the air above and below has been shut offto all the ovens. Oven 3 will be already full of incandescent coal, andunderneath this coal steam will be introduced. This steam passingthrough the thick layer of hot carbon will liberate watergas, aspreviously described, and crude oil being introduced on the top of ,thishot carbon the oil will make oil-gas. The three gases- 4;. a, theoil-gas and waterfgas of oven3 and the coal-gas of oven 4-thus producedcombine, and passing over the hot-brick checker-work in the carbureter 6and regenerator 8 will become a fixed gas. After a considerable periodof gas-making and heating, as above described, the gas-making will ceaseand another charge of fresh coal may be introduced into the oven3 tofill it up to the level of oven 4 at the beginning of the operation.During the previous gas-making period the coal in the oven 3 has beengradually consumed until the top will stand at aboutthe same level asthe hot coal in oven 4 stood at before the charge of green coal when theprocess commenced. The operation in the ovens is reversed, and steam maynow be introduced under the hot coal of the oven 4, and water-gas willbe produced in this oven, and coal-gas will be produced from the oven 3,the latter being suitably charged with green coal, the oil beingintroduced at this stage into the oven 4, as was previously describedfor 3. It will thus be seen that any two ovens can be used in such amanner as to alternately make coal-gas, water-gas, and oil-gas, andproduce no coke, for all the carbon is consumed in the gas-making andheating process.

Second. With the ovens 3 an 4 in the condition first described that is,the oven 4 having a small quantity of coal and the oven 3 being full ofcoalcoke may be produced in the oven 4 and a mixture of coal-gas,oil-gas,

and water-gas also produced as follows: During the heating period thevalves for the admlssion of air or steam under the hearth of oven 4 willbe closed; but air will be admitted over all the ovens, but only underthe coal in oven 3 to give a quick and strong heat. This heat will betransmitted through the wall between ovens 3 and 4. thus adding the heatthrough the sides df the body of coke in addition to that which isapplied from above during the operation, and this very materiallyreduces the time necessary to produce coke. After the body of coal inoven 3 has been heated to the desired point of incandescence and airunder and over all ovens cut OH to discontinue combustion steam will beintroduced under the oven 3 and water-gas will be made in this oven,while the oil will be delivered upon the top of the coal of the sameoven to produce oil-gas. The coking of the coal in oven 4 throws off thecoal-gas, and these three gases become fixed in the carbureter and theregenerator, wherein the surplus carbon and heat will also be deposited.If it is desired to produce any oil-gas in addition to that which may beproduced as heretofore described, it

may be effected by introducing oil into either of the carbureters, asrequired- It will thus be seen that any two alternate ovens can be usedto make any proportion of the three gases and a good hard coke, becauseevery alternate oven being charged with the highly-heated coal willproduce a large amount of heat to be transmitted through and over thewalls for the coking of the coal in the adjacent oven.

Third. 1f the oven 4 has a small amount of solid fuel, preferably coal,oil may be introduced upon the top of this coal through the openings 31at either end of the oven. This oil will liberate oil-gas, and theresidue will remain on the top of the layer of solid fuel, and when thecoking is to take place this will form the very best hard coke. In thiscase oven 3 having some hot coal, oil may also be introduced upon thetop of this coal; but steam will also be introduced. under the hearth,and water-gas and oil-gas will be formed in this oven. These gases fromoven 3 mix with the oil-gas arising from oven 4 and are all transmittedto the carbureter 6 and the regenerator 8 to be fixed as hereinbeforedescribed, thus making water-gas and oil-gas and producing coke in thealternate oven.

Fourth. The operation of making watergas and oil-gas from crude oilwithout making coke will be carried on as just described for the thirdmethod, except that the ovens will change off alternately for theintroduction of air and steam under the hearth for heating purposes andfor the making of the wa-' ter-gas, so as to consume all the coke forthe purpose of making water-gas. if oven 4 is gradually filled with cokeproduced from the successive introduction of crude oil and the cokeproduced from the crude oil in the oven 3 is gradually consumed in thewater and oil gas making then the introduction of air and steam forheating and gas-making IIO For instance,

will be changed from underneathoven 3 to oven 41, the process beingrepeated, as pre viously stated.

In all these operations where coke is to be made in some ovens and notin others I. avail myself not only of the reverberated heat from thecokingovens, but in addition thereto 1 use the heat that is diffusedthrough the walls of the non-cokingovens in which an intenser heat isgenerated by reason of the upward draft through the fuel. The cokingprocess is thereby greatly expedited. Since in all these operations someof the ovens are thus actively engaged both in generating gas and producing fresh heat simultaneously, the actual gasmaking period of the wholeapparatus is prolonged over what it would be were no air admissible atthe bottom of the ovens. (lonsequently it that an increased gas-makingcapacity is claimed .for the apparatus in addii tion to its advantagesof gas-supply control 1 previously specified.

It is to be noted that during the heatingperiod air is introduced overthe fuel in all the ovens, so that heat can he produced by theconsumption of the gases arising from the fuel; but air is onlyintroduced underneath those ovens that are not used for coking purposes.During the gas making period steam is introduced from the top of theregenerator over all the fuel in all the ovens, whereas steam isonlyintroduced underneath those ovens that are not used for cokingpurposes. Thus, for example, in operation 3 during the heating periodair was introduced over all the ovens, but only under oven 3 or ovens 3and 1, since in oven l or ovens i and 1 2 coke was to be produced.making steam was introduced under the hearth of oven 3 or ovens 2-) and1 to produce water-gas and oil-gas, but not under oven 4:

or ovens t and 2, as the case might be where 3 During the 'asi s... 11 1the entire battery was in operation, for while .I

have described each of thescoperations in reference to ovens 2) and ionly it is obvious that I what is true of oven relative to oven & wouldbe true of ovensl and 3 relative to ovensland iand the operationsbetween these pairs would alternate just as between single ovens. infact, it is desired to work the ovens in pairs and alternately to chargeone pair above the fuel-level of the others and secure all theadvantages of heat diffusion through the walls to heat the interveningcoking ovens.

This heat diffusion by radiation and the alternate action of the ovensare important considerations in my invention.

Having thus described my invention. what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Pat of coal to incandescence within a chamber by passing airsimultaneously over said coal and through said coal from below, heatinga body of coking-coal in a closed bottom contiguous chamber by heatpassing through the walls from the lirst-named chamber whereby coalgasis evolved from the coking-coal, then cutting off the air from thelirst-nained chamber and passing steam through the coal therein frombelow and transmitting the water-gas thus formed to mix with the gasarising from the coking-cord and afterward lixing and delivering themixed gas.

2. The process of manufacturing coke and gas. said process consisting inheating a body of coal to iucandescence within a containingchamher bypassing air over the fuel and therethrough from below, then shutting offthe supply of air, supplying a body of crude oil upon the surface ofsaid coal whereby oilgas is produced and a residue remains upon thecoal, introducing steam from below whereby water-gas is produced andmixed with the oil-gas at the surface of the coal, heating a body ofcoking-coal, contained in an oven contiguous to the first-named oven, byheat transmitted through the walls between said ovens whereby coal-gasis evolved from the coking-coal, mixing the three gases and transmittingthem to a fixing-chamber, then reversing the operation by lilling thecokingoven with fresh coal and coking in the lirstnamed oven, passingsteam through the second chamber and supplying oil upon the surface ofthe fresh coal whereby coke is formed from the coal and oil residue ofthe first-named chamber and coal-gas produced therefrom to unite withthe water and oil gas transmitted from the second chamber.

3. The process of manufacturinggas and coke simultanemisly consisting inproducing oil and water gas from a body of incandescent coal in one ovenby admitting steam thereto and then admitting oil to said oven, andsimultaneously forming coke from a body of coal and oil residue in acontiguous oven by the heat transmitted from the first-named oven to thesecond oven through the intermediate walls.

:1. The process of manufacturing gas and coke consisting in heatingbodies of coal and coking-coal in contiguous ovens and alternatelypassing air and steam over the surface of the fuel in said ovens andthrough said fuel from below, whereby through the agency of the air heatis transmitted through the walls intermediate between the two chambers,and by the agency of the steam water-gas is evolved, then i'nixiug thisgas with the coalgas evolved and afterward reversing the process andmaking coke and coal-gas in the firstnamed furnace and water-gas in thesecond.

i The. process of mamlfacturing gas and' l coke consisting in firstproducing oil-gas from crude oil in one of a series of parallelcontiguous ovens by heating a body of coal to incandescence and thenadmitting the oil therei to, and producing coal-gas and coke from theother of said ovens from a body of incandescent coal and oil residue,then reversing the process and making oil-gas inthe second of said ovensand producing coke in the firstnamed oven.

6. The process of manufacturing gas and coke consisting in introducingair over the fuel in all the ovens to cause a combustion of the wastegases and also introducing it beneath those ovens which are not used forcoking purposes then shutting off the air. admitting oil to thenon-coking ovens and admitting steam over all the fuel in all the ovensand introducing steam underneath those ovensin which no coking is goingon.

7 The process of manufacturing gas and coke consisting in charging aseries of ovens with fuel, introducing air beneath some and over all ofsaid ovens to cause combustion of the waste gases and to heat the fuelto incandescence, then shutting ofi the air above and below the fuel,and introducing steam beneath some of the ovens to generate water-gaswhich combines with the gas generated in the other ovens.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand'in presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

JOHN C; H. STUT.

WVitnesses:

S. H. NoURsE, JEssIE C. BRODIE.

